Tag Archives: Homeschooling

UPDATE: one awesome reader let me know that you can get the entire Kingdom Tales Trilogy here, spiral-bound (there are even discussion questions!) for only $30.

There are aspects of “school,” no matter what route you choose, that pretty much mean “gittin’-ur-done.”

Like math. I mean, yes, I could go on Pinterest every day and come up with cute/clever models and exercises to reinforce carrying the 1 in addition, but honestly, I just don’t have the time. Or interest. And so far, my boys are getting the concepts from simple repetition and practice.

I’d rather reserve my limited supply of creative effort for art or Spanish or history.

But any time I can easily introduce some sort of meaningful media or fun supplementary material that makes learning feel less like work, I’m all about it.

1.

This 14+ hour series on the American Revolution is so engaging and well done. The main characters are teenagers, but the series is completely age appropriate for even your youngest learner (unless they’re easily scared by gunshots or other slightly perilous situations). Told from the perspective of the fictitious characters, James (an apprentice to Benjamin Franklin at his Pennsylvania Gazette during the period before and during the American Revolution), and Sarah, a British loyalist-turned-reporter, it manages to weave tons of factual information within a fun, story-telling framework. It features quite a few impressive voice credits, including Walter Cronkite, Billy Crystal, and Dustin Hoffman, and my kids absolutely eat. it. up.

It’s not part of our “regular school,” but my kids fold all of our family’s laundry (yes, you read that right), and so every other day or so, they fold a couple of loads while they watch Liberty’s Kids. It’s pretty much a total win-win, as far as I’m concerned. (Also? You can get the entire series from Amazon for $5. Whaaaaat?)

2.

The lady at our local Christian bookstore recommended these as a supplementary resource for science (we use Apologia), and I’m so glad I went with her suggestion, I kind of want to go back and take her flowers.

My boys luuuuuuurve these. Now, granted, they’re more than a little obsessed with nature in general. But these books are just so stinking interesting and accessible that I think the boys would devour the entire book in one sitting if I let them. (I only assign a few pages per day and, if the boys are ever reluctant to do a subject, I ask them to hold off on reading “science” until they finish the subject that’s making them drag their feet; it’s a huge motivator, they love it that much).

Right now, Simon is learning about crabs, and Ezra is studying ants, and, considering that these are boys who have really only recently gotten into this whole “reading thing,” their information retention is staggering. They practically can’t wait to do a daily report about cool details like the fact that crabs can grow back their legs and even their eyes! (It takes a year, but still…wow). And I’m not gonna lie: I find their recitations absolutely fascinating and the passion for knowledge shining from their blue eyes pretty darn exhilarating.

3.

Again at the suggestion of the lady from the bookstore (and after a mom walking by overheard that suggestion and enthusiastically corroborated its awesomeness), I ordered this audiobook version of these history books.

We listen to it in the car on the way to and from the gym, and my kids are totally hooked. I’ve had to back Ezra off several times for being too pushy when he’s trying to hustle me into turning on “the history cd” before I’ve even gotten my seat belt on.

When the reader first started talking, I thought, “Uh oh. This guy sounds stuffy and boring.” But, it turns out, he’s anything but, although his voice is–ahem–mature and his diction is frighteningly proper. He does voices and just generally makes the kid-friendly but super-informative historical accounts (we’re learning about ancient history from the “Earliest Nomad to the last Roman Emperor” right now) come alive.

4.

We watch these also when we fold or sometimes in the car for trips. NEST has a huge library of really well done animated videos on everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Eric Liddell to Helen Keller to John the Baptist.

The videos are approximately half an hour and usually cost between $5-8 each. A few years back, I bought several of the collections (which gives you a bigger discount) for Ezra’s birthday, and we’ve been enjoying working our way through them (with lots of repeat viewings) ever since. The quality is surprisingly good, the stories are worthwhile and uplifting, and the messages are clear and positive.

(Side note: please know that, if you order any of the Biblical ones, some embellishment takes place. For example, Jonah is given a plausible back story for his hatred for the Assyrians–they burned his childhood home–which doesn’t actually appear in the Bible. But they never change or water down the actual truths in the Bible, so I just make sure to point out the added parts to my children and then read them the read deal and don’t worry about it too much).

5.

This is the series I’m reading to my older kids at night. My mom read them to me when I little, and I remember loving them. Sure enough, my kids do too.

They’re not strictly “educational,” per se, but I honestly consider it my first job as a mama to instill godly character traits in my children–before math, science, reading, or any other pursuit of knowledge. Sure, spelling is important, but it pales in comparison to honesty or integrity.

The Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy is made up of a series of allegorical stories about the inhabitants of The Enchanted City, where the evil Enchanter rules, and Great Park, which is ruled by the one true King. Each teaches a lesson, and while they flow well and build upon each other, each can be read as a stand-alone story as well.

Best of all, the writing is some of the best I’ve encountered for raising vocabulary levels and forcing kids to think, without losing their interest (I sometimes find myself reading on to the next story while my kids brush their teeth because the writing keeps my interest as well).

And because each story is allegorical, it requires a lot of critical higher thinking skills (just this morning, Ezra asked me if something that had happened in last night’s story was “real,” and I told him that we can’t know for sure, to which he fired back a fact from the story that supported its being intended as literal in this case. I was thrilled! He had not only listened well, but he had been mulling it over and even had a support from the story for his point of view!)

Note: it’s pretty much impossible to find these books in anything but their trilogy form, which are kind of pricey at $90 for all 3. However, if you have a Kindle, you can get each one separately for $10.

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So, there you have it: my picks for learning that just feels like fun.

Care to share some of yours? I’m always on the lookout for ways to engage my kids’ minds without their even realizing it.

Well, we’ve survived one full week of homeshooling now. More than survived, actually. Outside of one morning last week during which Della, then Simon, then Ezra fell victim to the domino effect of the full-on tantrum meltdown, things have been remarkably smooth.

At one point, Ezra chirped, “I love homeschooling, Mama! This is perfect!”

I tell you that because–oh my goodness–those words actually came out of his mouth!!!!! How could I not document it?

But it doesn’t mean that every day sounds like something from the script of Leave it to Beaver around here. (I’m pretty sure the Leave it to Beaver mom never referred to her child as a “dingbat” when he claimed to not know how to do something and didn’t even bother to read the instructions first…ahem).

And, yes, things are hectic, and I’m getting my daily workout in just from how many times I run up and down the stairs as I alternate between feeding twins, changing diapers, helping Della with her letters, and answering questions for the boys.

I’ll talk more about the actual routine of things in another post soon-ish, but for now, I thought I’d just share a few snapshots from our first week back to homeschooling.

I’m not doing anything terribly formal with Della’s “schooling” since she’s only 3, but we do work on letters, numbers, and writing a little bit at a time each day until she gets bored and wants to go trash her room with her sisters.

Clearly she and the twins are quite proficient and would make great rock star groupies (future hotel rooms of America, watch out).

(P.S. I had just given the twins baths and had not braided their hair, which is pretty much the only surefire way to keep it from hanging in their eyes like that; they look like poor little neglected orphan children).

And while the boys do this…

…the laundry does this:

Most of the boys’ work happens upstairs in our “big room,” but every now and then, they end up scattered all over the house.

In the kitchen…

Even on the ottoman in the living room…

When the twins are napping (AKA: unavailable for room demolition), Della does a little of this:

(I already talked in another post about the whole tongue-out-for-concentration thing being an inherited trait from their daddy, but I don’t think I’d ever noticed Della doing it particularly until now).

Which produces this:

Which, I honestly think is kind of pretty…except that it only occupied her for 9 whopping minutes4.

Fridays are a bit more laid back than the rest, with the emphasis on a weekly spelling test and art.

Last week, we made pinwheels out of leftover magazines. (If you’re an artsy sort, don’t laugh; it’s not my forte).

And the ABSOLUTE BEST part of homeschooling so far? My boys woke up at 5:30 this morning and made a surprise breakfast of (woefully under-salted) eggs and bacon! Come to think of it, I have no idea what that has to do with homeschooling, but it happened and also needed to be bragged about documented for posterity’s sake (AKA: I need to reread this post when I’m losing my ever-loving mind on a particularly hard day).

I won’t lie and say that I feel all perky and excited most days (um, ever?). I don’t. I have silenced my 6 AM alarm every. single. time it’s begun it’s annoyingly melodic trill this past week. That’s going to have to change. Starting with an earlier bedtime than midnight.

And by 2 PM, all I can think is, ALL CHILDREN IN THEIR ROOMS NOW!!!! At which point, I stumble to my room, ignoring the pile of folded laundry I need to put away, and collapse on my bed for 45 minutes.

Those 45 minutes are what gets me through the second half of the day (that, and lots of Jesus), so when the 3-year-old hollers, “I need to go pooooooootttttyyy!” from her room 19 minutes (i.e. 7 minutes after I fell asleep) into Mama’s 45 minute cone of silence, Mama is…unhappy.

And when Mama ain’t happy…yeah, you know the rest.

Anyhoo, just keeping it real, there, but other than the inherent chaos that results from attempting to do 95 things at once, I have no real complaints.

Homeschooling is exactly what I expected: hard, busy, but totally worth it.

How have your first weeks back to school (homeschooling or otherwise) treated you so far?

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Hi, I’m Abbie, and M is for Mama is an unapologetic ode to messy, maddening, miraculous motherhood. It’s also where I share my favorite non-M-related passions–like thrifting, endless furniture and knickknack rearranging, exercising, baking yummy treats, putting together ridiculously cheap outfits, hot-glue crafting, and typing out my deep (and not-so-deep) thoughts…almost always with one of my 5 children on or near me. I love Jesus, good grammar, and ho-cho (which I don’t get to drink nearly as often as I’d like in the muggy, pine tree forests of East Texas). (I also love parentheses). (Can you tell?). I hope you’ll stick around and share what you love too! Read more here.